If a cramped, old kitchen is turning off buyers, follow the lead of these home owners and turn a liability into a showplace.
The challenge most homeowners face involve a key element in limited supply: money. You know that you’ll be doing a substantial amount of the work yourself or supervising subcontractors called in for selected jobs. If you know what your budget is then here are some of the lessons we learned that sellers can use in turning that old, tired kitchen into a showplace buyers will clamor to call their own.
1. Add space and light by removing a wall. Instead of shelling out thousands of dollars to build additional floor space for our cramped kitchen, we took a simpler, less invasive approach. We replaced the partition walls with a single supporting beam and extended the exterior wall to enclose an underused 8-by-9-foot deck. For more light we added a large skylight and enlarged the garden window.
2. Don’t move the plumbing. Although it was tempting to move the sink from the back wall to the new island, it would have cost us an additional $1,200. Relocating the stove was possible, but moving the gas and electricity would have run at least $500 plus the cost of a new stove to work with the island. We did relocate the fridge to make room for the island, which we use for both food prep and casual dining. However, keeping most of the appliances in the same place saved us an estimated $2,000.
3. Unclutter the countertops with special hardware. Limited counter space doesn’t have to mean limited workspace. Mounting a stand mixer and a food processor on heavy-duty appliance lifts from Rev-A-Shelf kept them out of the way but instantly accessible. The brackets are strong enough to support an appliance in use, so you can lift it up to create an instant workstation. The lifts average about $90 each.
4. Buy ready-to-assemble cabinets. We chose white melamine boxes for most of the kitchen and cherry for the hutch, all from CabParts. The drawer boxes were ordered from Drawer Box Specialties. Ordering parts by mail and installing them yourself requires careful planning and precise measurements, but the payoff is major savings (for us, about $15,000).
5. Consider a variety of countertop materials. We wanted granite for its look and durability, but our budget kept us from using it on the island as well as the countertop. By shopping around, we found a 3⁄4-inch-thick granite slab that cost 30 percent less than a 1 1⁄4-inch version. The granite’s true thickness is visible around the under mount sink, but a laminated edge makes it look like a thicker slab and hides the plywood backing, which adds structural support to the countertop. A maple butcher-block top on the island costs about $450.
6. Completing most of the demolition and general-carpentry work ourselves saved thousands of dollars. To save time, we hired laborers here and there, as well as electrical and plumbing contractors when necessary. Instead of renting an on-site Dumpster, we made multiple truck trips to the dump, which saved a little money but probably cost a good amount in time. I also cleaned up at the end of each day when a crew was on site to save at least a half-hour of labor, if not more. When all is said and done, our own kitchen makeover reinforced what we had learned from similar jobs: that savings can be maximized when you consider as many economical sources as possible.
